News

City of Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Coursey presented to the Chamber’s Advocacy Council on January 10, speaking about the City’s priorities for 2018 and giving an update on fire recovery efforts for our community. He began by talking about the progress made in the previous year – reunification of Courthouse Square, the launch of SMART and the annexation of Roseland – but said 2017 will be long remembered for the October fires.

The Mayor spoke about the City’s commitment to rebuilding and recovery efforts, such as the new Resilient City department and tracking temporary housing needs. Coursey noted that all clean up activities are projected to be completed in the next few months. Looking forward, he acknowledged that constraints on the budget will be an issue, but the City Council plans to keep priority focus on homelessness and housing – particularly pursuing downtown development – in 2018.

“It’s important to keep the lines of communication open with the City, especially at this time as we’re focused on fire recovery plans,” says Joe Dietzen, Advocacy Council Chair and Senior Vice President at Westamerica Bank. “It helps the Chamber align our priorities of how we can support the City with their efforts and ensure collaboration in supporting the vibrancy of local business.”